British Airways invests Millions to cut Emissions at Heathrow

Monday, March 18, 2024

British Airways has initiated a significant investment program, amounting to millions of pounds, aimed at modernizing its ground support equipment at Heathrow Airport. This initiative underscores the airline’s commitment to reducing emissions both in flight and on the ground. As part of this endeavor, British Airways will gradually replace its ground vehicles at Heathrow, including vans, cars, cargo transporters, and passenger steps, with hybrid or electric alternatives wherever possible.

Currently, over 90% of British Airways’ vehicles and ground equipment at Heathrow operate on zero emissions electrical equipment while in use or are hybrids, or they utilize hydrotreated vegetable oil (HVO) fuel.

Key improvements in this program include:

• Replacement of more than 750 pieces of ground equipment, including fuel bowsers, transitioning from fossil fuel to HVO. HVO serves as an interim measure as the airline moves towards zero-emissions or hybrid equipment. This switch to HVO, supplied by the airline’s sustainable aviation fuel (SAF) supplier, Phillips 66, is projected to save over 6,000 tonnes of CO2 annually compared to traditional diesel fuel.
• Replacing all diesel-powered passenger aircraft with electric alternatives is set to significantly decrease fuel consumption by more than 370 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually, a figure equivalent to over 500 round-trip economy passenger journeys between London Heathrow and JFK. The transition to these electric alternatives is expected to be largely completed by the end of the year.
• Phasing out the fleet of 20 diesel-powered vehicles used for loading and unloading cargo containers onto aircraft, replacing them with Hybrid Electric models.
• Introduction of 135 new electric baggage tugs, constituting 40% of the tug fleet, for transporting customer luggage. These tugs utilize advanced lithium-ion battery technology, offering improved efficiency and generating 30% less CO2 during operation compared to traditional lead-acid batteries. Efforts are underway to maximize battery component recycling at the end of their life cycle.
• Gradual retirement of all 38 diesel passenger buses over the next two years, with 23 expected to be fully electric and the remaining 15 operating on HVO fuel. Early development stages of a large charging park at Heathrow aim to support these electric buses. This transition is anticipated to save 800 tonnes of CO2 emissions annually, contributing to reduced air quality impacts in the Heathrow vicinity.

Tom Moran, British Airways’ Director of Heathrow, said: “At British Airways, we are committed to reaching net zero emissions by 2050 or sooner and our focus isn’t just about reducing emissions in the air, but on the ground too. This major investment into our vehicles at Heathrow is our largest investment in more sustainable airport ground operations to date and is part of our wider environmental objective to minimise emissions from our airside ground operation. We’re proud of the work we are doing in this space and are excited to continue improving the running of our ground operations at Heathrow.” 

Carrie Harris, British Airways’ Director of Sustainability said: “I am incredibly proud of this project, which has been driven by our Heathrow ground operations teams and encapsulates our BA Better World ethos of raising awareness of our strategy to all of our colleagues, and inspiring them to play a part in minimising our environmental impact where possible. Their energy, enthusiasm and innovative approach in bringing the project to life shows what can be achieved and this investment demonstrates our ongoing commitment to making improvements across our business that will benefit both our customers and colleagues. 

These enhancements are integral to British Airways’ £7 billion commitment to transforming various aspects of its operations over the next three years. They expand upon prior ground upgrades, such as implementing electric and hybrid vehicles for transporting colleagues within airside areas, utilizing remote-controlled pushback vehicles (Mototoks) for short-haul aircraft, and ensuring aircraft connect to electricity at Heathrow while parked to support lighting and air conditioning systems.

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